Jay P. Fosgitt

Dead Duck, by Jay P. Fosgitt

Welcome to Rigormortitropolis, the end of the line and home to RIP, Inc, J.P Yorick’s company. Death is a business like any other, but with people dying in all times and conditions, that’s a lot of work for one man creature Death, and things are, understandably, a bit backed-up. That’s where Dead Duck comes in. Death’s hapless adopted son comes in. Promoted to a position as Death’s “minion” (lackey or toadie will work too…), Death comes around to Dead Duck’s request for protection by giving him his very own Zombie Sidekick, Zombie Chick.

They travel throughout time and various universes collecting the dearly departed and ferrying them to Death, who decides what to do with them. Interestingly, there is not a set heaven or hell, reincarnation or afterlife. Instead, one’s fate depends on one’s beliefs during their life, and how they lived up to the standards they had set for themselves. Now, the comic is in no way a very serious or dark one, but the world and laws it abides to are certainly intriguing and leave plenty to the nitpicking and imaginations of the sort of fans who are obsessed with world building.

There are trips to well-known political deaths; such as Abraham Lincoln and Archduke Franz Ferdinand’s, there are visitations to the deaths of a popular cartoon character’s, as well as to a mother of a pantheon of gods. We see 14th century England, 16th century Prague, too much of Canada, and a Minions-Only Bar & Grill that Zombie Chick attempts to gatecrash in many interesting poses.

Now let’s let the story take a backseat for a minute, hm? Because although the story is hilarious and keeps you entertained, Zombie Chick is enough to keep me reading the Dead Duck series regardless of the amusing plots. Zombie Chick is an adorably voluptuous, stitched-up simple-minded chicken babe. She may not be big on brains (what zombie is?) but has a charming personality nonetheless and an admirably experienced cluelessness.She may be there for the fan service but I loved her anyway, unlike some of the roll-your-eyes cardboard hot chicks in most comics these days. She’s a little funky but she seems to really care for our hero, Dead Duck.

Dead Duck is your typical kinda grumpy hero who has a good heart deep down (very, very deep down). He’s nicer and smarter than I’m making him sound, but he’s still a not-particularly lucky loser. J.P Yorick is the real grump of the bunch anyways, playing the part of the gruff father who you’re not too sure actually loves his kid or not. Most of the minor/side characters are likeable enough as well, and worthy of a write-up, but I’m trying to keep this review free of spoilers so I’ll skip covering them.

This seems like a good place to talk about the artwork, so let’s! I’m truly a fan of it: the coloring is superb, and there’s so much detail in the scenes that it’s like a feast for the eyes.

I won my copy of Dead Duck through Goodreads, and now I’m pretty glad I did. It’s not everyday you find a comic or artist/writer you like so much. I’ll definitely be stopping by the ApeComics website and checking out some of their other titles; can’t wait for the next Dead Duck volume either!
… (altro)